In recent years, ECVs have become increasingly popular. Examples of such products include the Station Wagon, the Sport Utility Vehicle, and the Mini-Van. These ECVs are all characterized by an enlarged cabin area that extends generally from the windshield of the vehicle, to the rear end of the vehicle where a tailgate (or rear hatch) is provided for rear access into the cabin.
The increased popularity of these vehicles can be attributed in some measure to their increased passenger carrying capacity when compared to conventional sedans. Most sedans include two rows of seats, including a front row in which the driver and front passenger(s) sit, and a first (and only) row of rear seats. Many ECVs include a second rear row of seats in addition to the front and back seats.
As both cargo and passenger carrying capacity are valued, it is desirable to design the first and second rear row of seats to be configured both to carry additional passengers and additional cargo, and to be convertible easily between an enhanced passenger carrying configuration, and an enhanced cargo carrying configuration.
Examples of patents showing various seating/cargo configurations for ECVs are Itoh U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,782; Odagaki et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,581; LeBault et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,736; Crawford et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,769; Gokimoto et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,776; Gokimoto et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,656; Plavetich U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,418; Brambilla U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,178; Hayden et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,355; Fowler et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,048; and Woziekonski et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,699.
Some of the patents described above disclose seats for use in vans and minivans, whereas others relate to seats for use in station wagons and sport utility vehicles. The design challenges faced by the designers of seats for vans are usually somewhat different than the challenges faced by those designing seats for station wagons and sport utility vehicles. Vans typically have a cargo compartment that is taller that the cargo compartments in either station wagons or sport utility vehicles. Additionally vans usually have a flat floor which extends generally between the back of the front row of seats and the tailgate. On the other hand, station wagons and sport utility vehicles typically do not have a flat floor.
Because of these different configurations, seats for vans are typically designed differently than seats for station wagons and sport utility vehicles. Most seats for vans are designed to be of chair height, and have relatively long legs which connect the lower surface of the seat bottom portion to the floor of the van. As the floor of the van is generally flat, and has no foot wells, most van seats do not contain mechanisms for making the seat a part of the van floor when the user desires to carry cargo. Rather, van seats are often designed to be removable to enable the user to remove the seat from the van when he wishes to have a large cargo area.
To the contrary, most middle and rear seat assemblies for sport utility vehicles and station wagons are not designed to be removable. Rather, the seats are designed to be foldable. To move the seat between its "passenger carrying" position and its "cargo carrying" position, the back portion and/or the seat bottom portion are rotated about pivot axes, so that one of the surface(s) of one or both of the back portions of the first and second rear seats are generally co-planar with the floor of the vehicle. When the first and second rear seats are placed in their "cargo" positions, a planar cargo surface can be formed which extends from the rearward facing surface of the front seats to the tailgate of the vehicle. An example of a folding arrangement that is useable in a station wagon is shown in LeBault et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,736.
Notwithstanding the existence of several known seating arrangements that provide for seats that are capable of being moved between a passenger carrying position and a cargo carrying position, room for improvement exists.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a seat system that includes a pair of seats having a middle seat assembly that provides comfortable and safe seating for the occupants when the seat is in its seating position, and which can be folded into a cargo carrying position that provides a generally planar cargo carrying compartment.
Another difficulty that faces a seat designer of vehicles having three rows of seats is providing a means to permit ingress to and egress from the third seat. Most station wagons, vans and sport utility vehicles that have three rows of seats include either four or five doors. Almost all vehicles include left and right "front" doors to permit passengers to gain access to the left hand and right hand front seats. Many station wagons, sport utility vehicles, and minivans manufactured by the assignee, Chrysler Corporation, contain two rear side doors that are placed adjacent to the second row of seats. On such vehicles, the rearward opening tailgate is typically counted as the "fifth" door.
Because the rear side doors of most ECVs are positioned adjacent to the middle row of seats, means must be provided for enabling passengers to gain ingress and egress to the rear row of seats. Several currently known methods exist for providing such access. For example, many station wagons install a rearwardly facing rear seat that permits passengers to gain access thereto through the tailgate door. On minivans, a common practice is to use a middle seat that has a width substantially less than the width of the interior of the vehicle, to provide a space in the interior of the vehicle, adjacent to the door through which a passenger can pass to gain access to the rear seat.
Both of these two methods of providing ingress have drawbacks. For example, vehicle length constraints often make rear facing rear seats uncomfortable for passengers other than small children. Additionally, rearward facing rear seats are generally not suitable for use with car seats, thus precluding their use by very young children. Reduced width middle seats suffer the drawback of reducing the usable seat width, thus reducing the passenger carrying capacity of the vehicle.
It is therefore desirable to provide a full width middle seat for a vehicle that provides access to the rear row of seats to enable the rear row of seats to be placed in a forward facing orientation.
Another drawback of prior art seating arrangements is that passengers in the middle and rear seat assemblies have a view which is obstructed by the front seats or by the passengers in the front seats.
Accordingly, a passenger vehicle is provided with a tiered seating arrangement having first, second, and third seat assemblies. The vehicle is provided with a floor having a first platform upon which the first seat assembly is mounted, a second platform upon which said second seat assembly is mounted, and a third platform upon which the third seat assembly is mounted. The third platform is higher than the second platform and the third seat assembly is disposed behind the second seat assembly. The third platform is higher than the second platform by an amount that is substantially the same as a thickness of a seat bottom of the third seat assembly. A foot well portion is provided in the vehicle floor between the second vehicle seat assembly and the first seat assembly. The second platform is higher than the foot well portion by an amount that is substantially the same as a height of a headrest of said second seat assembly. The bottom section of the third seat assembly is capable of being articulated completely into a space between the second and third seat assemblies, such that a top surface of the bottom section is substantially at a same level as the third platform. The vehicle includes a covered compartment located behind the third seat assembly. The upper surface of the covered compartment is higher than the third platform. The vehicle includes a tiered headliner having a first tier extending over the first seat assembly and a second tier extending over the second and third seat assemblies, wherein the second tier is higher than the first tier. A roof height of the vehicle is higher above the second and third seat assemblies than above the first seat assembly.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, a passenger vehicle is provided including a passenger compartment having a floor including a first platform, a second platform, and a third platform. The third platform being higher than the second platform. A driver's seat is disposed in the passenger compartment on the first platform. A second seat assembly is disposed in the passenger compartment on the second platform and includes a seat bottom and a seat back movable between a first upright seating position and a second generally horizontal position. A third seat assembly is disposed in the passenger compartment and includes a seat bottom and a seat back movable between a first upright seating position and a second generally horizontal position. The second and third seat assemblies are configured and positioned so that when both of the seat backs are in the second position, the upper surfaces thereof lie generally in a common substantially horizontal plane. Each of the seat backs of the second and third seat assemblies has a generally flat upwardly facing load carrying surface when disposed in the second position.
Another challenge presented to designers of ECVs, is providing sufficient headroom for each of the vehicle passengers. According to another aspect of the present invention, an automotive vehicle is provided with a passenger compartment having a floor and a roof. First, second, and third seats are fixed to the floor in a fore-to-aft relationship. The third seat being higher than the second seat. The roof includes a forward portion and a higher rearward portion. The transverse line of the demarcation between the forward and rearward portions being disposed in approximate vertical alignment with a rearward edge of the first seat. The roof includes a gradually sloping intermediate roof portion disposed between and leading into the forward and rearward portions. A luggage rack is provided including two longitudinally extending side rails disposed along the side edges of the roof. The higher rearward portion of the roof being disposed between the side rails. The side rails extend longitudinally for approximately the full extent of the higher rearward roof portion.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, an automotive vehicle is provided with a passenger compartment having a floor and a roof. First, second, and third seats are affixed to the floor in a fore-to-aft relationship, the third seat being higher than the second seat. A mechanism is provided for moving the seat bottom of the third seat to the level of the second seat. The seat bottom of the third seat moves forwardly and downwardly to the level of the second seat.
The passenger vehicle floor and seat arrangement of the present invention provides seating for up to eight persons and offers numerous people/cargo combinations. The roof has been raised to provide more headroom and theater-styled raised seating for the middle and rear seat passengers. The middle and rear seats fold quickly and easily with one hand operation and lie nearly flat providing a large cargo area.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood however that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.